The Strategic Importance of Corporate Core Values

Despite their widespread use, corporate core values are probably one of the most underrated factors for competitive advantage. Rise of Corporate Values After the Dot-com Bubble All major companies nowadays have defined corporate values for themselves. See for example the results of a study conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton and the Aspen Institute already in … Read more

Five Strategic Lessons from the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal

The resignation of Martin Winterkorn as chief executive of Volkswagen on 23 September has so far been the climax of the emissions cheating scandal. On 22 September, Volkswagen admitted to using software to change emissions test results for 11 million of its diesel engine cars sold between 2009 and 2015. The cheating and the emissions … Read more

The Five Major Strategic Challenges for HR

Human resource management plays a key role for the sustained success of a company. While this has always been true, the relative importance of HR in today’s business environment of fast change and high complexity and uncertainty has even further increased. At the same time, the challenges for HR have changed, as two recent studies … Read more

Why Artificial Intelligence is Relevant for Your Business Strategy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for a long time. The term was coined in 1955 by John McCarthy. The concept goes back to the early days of computing when British computer pioneer Alan Turing hypothesized about intelligent machines in his seminal paper on “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” (1950). Progress of AI has been slower … Read more

The Five Key Traits of Strategic Leaders

The prevalent pressure for good quarterly results has led to the dominance of executives with a short- to mid-term focus. This applies particularly to large corporations. Truly strategic leaders have become rare these days. However, in the current times of uncertainty and rapid change, strategic leaders are needed more than ever. What are the distinguishing … Read more

Business lessons from the World Chess Championship Match Carlsen – Anand | Part 4: Paying attention to details

Chess offers useful insights for business. On occasion of the current World Chess Championship 2014, I will highlight in a series of articles different business lessons to be learned from the game of kings. In part four, I explain why paying attention to details pays off in chess and business. Top chess players can focus … Read more

Business lessons from the World Chess Championship Match Carlsen – Anand | Part 3: Prepare for success

Chess offers useful insights for business. On occasion of the current World Chess Championship 2014, I will highlight in a series of articles different business lessons to be learned from the game of kings. In part three, I explore the role of preparation for success. Already three centuries ago, a famous American chess player knew … Read more

Business lessons from the World Chess Championship Match Carlsen – Anand | Part 2: Seizing the initiative

Chess offers useful insights for business. On occasion of the current World Chess Championship 2014, I will highlight in a series of articles different business lessons to be learned from the game of kings. In part two, I explore the topic of seizing the initiative. The second game of the World Chess Championship Match between … Read more

Business lessons from the World Chess Championship Match Carlsen – Anand | Part 1: The importance of resilience for success

Chess offers useful insights for business. On occasion of the current World Chess Championship 2014, I will highlight in a series of articles different business lessons to be learned from the game of kings. In part one, I will focus on the importance of resilience for success in chess and business. On 8 November 2014, … Read more

Book contribution on strategic action published in GSA Top Speakers Edition

In August 2014, German publisher GABAL released volume 5 of the GSA Top Speakers Edition: “Die besten Ideen für erfolgreiche Führung” (The best ideas for successful leadership). For this anthology by the German Speakers Association (GSA), editor Lothar Seiwert, Germany’s leading time management expert and founder of the GSA Top Speakers Edition, had assembled 24 … Read more